With Cardiovascular disease(CVD), including ischemic heart disease and strokes becoming public health challenge, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) along with its partners have launched first of its kind pan-India Certificate course on CVD and stroke.

PHFI along with international academic and knowledge partners the World Heart Federation (WHF), Population Health Research Institute (PHRI), The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC) launched the certificate course.

This course will be initially launched in India and then extended to other regions of the world with the goal of reaching all continents within 5 years.

When fully operationalised, it is expected that this course will train a huge number Primary Care practitioners and measurably increase their capacity and knowledge to address CVD, ultimately drive the reduction of premature CVD mortality globally, a statement said.

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), including ischemic heart disease and stroke are the leading cause of death globally. In 2013 there were over 17 million CVD deaths, of which about 6 million were premature.

Overview of population surveys conducted over two decades in India reported 9-fold increase in the prevalence of Coronary Heart Disease in India and it has been estimated that there will be doubling of deaths due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) in India.

D Prabhakaran, Vice President - Research and Policy, PHFI said that through the certificate course, the aim is to tackle one of the most formidable public health challenges of this century- reducing the burden of heart disease and stroke.

"Heart disease and stroke are among the nation's leading causes of death and disability, and despite this condition having a huge individual and societal burden, it is under-addressed within the population level -- both rural and urban and also at the medical fraternity level, who are poorly trained to diagnose this condition earlier in a patient.

"As the numbers increase for patients diagnosed, the need for an advanced educational preparation for physicians needs to be developed. This course is a well-designed compendium that will help tackle the challenges of disease detection, management, and further familiarising primary care doctors with advancements in CVD and Stroke management,"he said.

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